Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 277

Ethan:

“I didn’t mean what I said… at least, not like that.”

“You know you’re saying that over and over again does not change anything, Ethan.” Delilah said, rolling her eyes.

“I know that it doesn’t, but I want you to understand because you’re refusing to look me in the eye and I want you to start going back to it. I don’t want you to keep looking away from me, nor do I want you to keep avoiding me.” I said, knowing that she was not going to reply.

Indeed, she did not.

She just kept walking beside me, our shoes crunching over gravel, her arms crossed tightly across her chest like armor she wasn’t ready to take off. I didn’t blame her. I wouldn’t trust me either. After everything, I wouldn’t trust a word that I was saying.

“You don’t have to talk. But you can listen.” I said, and she looked away from me.

“You wouldn’t stop talking if I don’t respond, and that is one of the reasons why I do. Otherwise, trust me, you are the last person that I would want to respond to.” She said, and I chuckled.

“Well, at least you’re responding. You’re not pushing me away, nor are you slapping me in the face.”

“I would, but they would put us together on patrol duty. He knows that I don’t want to see her face, and yet he still chose to do it anyway. I understand that he has his reasons, but right now you are the last person that I want to be around.” She said, and I hummed in response, understanding her conception.

We walked along the western edge of the barracks, where the wind hit harder and the trees grew closer, too close for comfort. I kept my pace slow, matching hers. There was something eerie going on in the woods and familiar sound, but I knew. To bother with it, as long as it was familiar, it was parts of the pack.

“I just want to understand, I know that you might not want to look at me, but I just want that from you. An answer a small little answer from you.” I muttered. “You don’t owe me anything, but if there’s even a sliver of a chance…”

“Shhh.” Delilah’s hand shot out across my chest, halting me. I frowned in confusion. I tried following her gaze, but I did not see anything beyond what was supposedly normal. At least that was what I believed.

Her eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring slightly.

I froze.

“What is it?”

She didn’t answer immediately. She was listening, too intently. I knew that she was stronger than others, and Giovanni was sure to train her differently if her mother was Tatiana then there was a slight better chance for her to be different, just as Sienna was. Though I knew that she was a little more prepared than our Luna, I also knew that she had a little more difficult demeanor than Sienna did.

Then she whispered, “Something’s wrong. Someone’s here, but they’re masking their scent.”

“Then we go.”

.”

“I go, I don’t trust you.’

“Is this really the time for you to be discussing this with me, Delilah?” I whispered as I glared at her. She studied my expression for a moment before humming in response.

We stepped slowly, following her instincts until we reached the tree line. It was a familiar area though, deep within the woods, secluded from anywhere and anything that could hear. The number of pines and the amount of plants were heavy enough to cover and mask anyone’s scent.

The two of us looked around and that was when we saw him.

Carter.

He was standing at the edge of the clearing, still as stone, his back turned to us, head slightly bowed. He, just like us, could not hear or catch the sun to past the number of trees, the low tripping off frightened insects and the wind that raffled the leaves.

A soft mist began to curl around his shoes. I frowned, wanting to rush to him.

Delilah hissed, “No…”

My heart dropped.

But it was.

The glow of the fog didn’t react to him. It welcomed him. It brought him closer and he was not afraid of it. He was getting to be part of it.

Delilah took a step forward, but I grabbed her arm. “We need to tell Damon.”

Her jaw clenched. Her voice was ice.

“No. We need to stop him. Now.”

And across the clearing, Tatiana lifted her gaze, and saw us. Her smile was slow. Cold.

She didn’t disappear.

She wanted us to see.

Carter turned toward us at last.

His eyes weren’t entirely his anymore. They were darker.

And I realized too late…

We’d already been breached. And it was his next words that had both Delilah and I run as fast as Alex could carry us wanting to warn the others, knowing that now of all times was one hour war was to begin.

“It seems to me that it is time for war, isn’t it?”